**7. The way forward-striking a balance between the risks associated with social media use and its capacity and potential use in suicide prevention**

The media are a something of a double-edged sword as concerning its effect on mental health and suicide, making its use in suicide prevention fraught with a lot of danger; hence, caution must be exercised in this undertaking. Albeit, this chapter is replete with means by which the internet can be used to prevent suicide, it can also exacerbate suicide risk by glamorizing suicide or promoting it as a solution to life's problems. As elucidated by Pirkis and Blood [44, 45] and Gould [46], the latter could encourage distressed and suicidal individuals to actually attempt suicide or be drawn to suicide hot spots portrayed in various media. The Internet is of increasing concern, particularly the effects of suicide chat rooms, the provision of instruction in methods for suicide, and the active solicitation of suicide-pact partners [47]. Media blackouts on reporting suicide have coincided with decreases in suicide rates [48]. A 1987 campaign [49] to decrease media coverage of subway suicides in Austria cut subway suicides by 80%. This only goes to show how vital the education of journalists and reporters is, as well as the regulation of suicide reporting. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention [50] and Annenberg Public Policy Center, and The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [51] in the United States have produced guidelines for the responsible reporting of suicide; however, no published studies have evaluated their impact [47].

Additionally, in an online survey by Robinson et al. [29], most organizations that facilitated user-user interaction via their social media sites had trained moderators in situ; however, few had clear safety protocols or a code of ethics underpinning their work. The need for clear protocols and ethical standards for suicide prevention activities using social media platforms has been emphasized before [52]. The subsequent implementation of these guidelines will be an important step toward enhancing the safe delivery of suicide prevention initiatives using the internet [29].

Robinson et al. [29] identified the need for more interventional studies for persons at risk of suicide, and bereaved due to suicide; they also noted the need for additional research investigating the safety and ethics of delivering interventions via social media.

The unstructured, formless and anonymous nature of social media has constituted not only systematic but also ethical challenges for researchers and other stake holders looking to use social media to curb suicide. It has therefore become something of a necessity that if this endeavor were to be successful, the development of methodologies that can be rigorously and aptly applied to researches that utilize social media as a platform has become imperative. In the same vein, service-related guidelines that will ensure the acceptability, utility, efficacy, and ethical standards of social media-based suicide prevention services must be formulated. In doing this, researchers must work more closely with agencies and organizations involved in using social media for suicide prevention to ensure the practical applicability of these guidelines as well as their implementation.

#### **7.1 Media reporting and guidelines**

Locally and internationally, researchers have shown that detailed and sensationalized reporting of suicide is associated with suicidal behavior especially in persons in the same sex-age demographics as the deceased even after accounting for reporting and methodological and reporting bias.

Following the release of JW Von Goethe's novel 'The Sorrows of Jung Werther', imitative suicides of young men across European countries were identified leading to the coining of the term 'The Werther effect'. Similarly, there was an increase of about 12% in suicide rates after the suicidal death of famous American model and actress, Marilyn Monroe. Numerous studies have shown that the copycat and imitation effects of media reporting are primarily found for vulnerable people, such as people with depression and those who have engaged in self-harm [53].

The provision and compliance with media reporting guidelines have heralded applaudable impact with reduction in suicide rates and use of lethal weapons. However, Bohanna and Wang report that media guidelines can be effective only when 'accompanied by media endorsement, active dissemination strategies and ongoing training and monitoring' [54].

#### **8. Conclusion**

The internet has heralded an age of global interconnection via social media and this wave of modernization has become ingrained in almost all human endeavors leaving an indelible mark of positives as well as negatives on the very fabric of society. In this time, suicide and suicidal behavior have snowballed especially amongst young people, the most avid social media users.

This chapter is replete with empirical evidence to disprove any coincidentally in this simultaneous pattern of events as well as establish that social media usage is associated with mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, etc. Phenomena such as cyber-bullying, body image dissatisfaction, substance abuse, suicide contagion and celebrity suicide that are caused or promoted by social media are contributory to self-harming and suicidal behavior.

We have examined the existing channels of suicide prevention via social media as well as the potential and novel avenues it presents for the prevention of suicide and suicidal behavior. Emphasis was placed on the use of 'big data' and appropriate reporting of suicide following laid down guidelines. A major talking point was the adoption of a new approach to exploring the mechanism of suicide and reducing the capacity for it.

Future priorities identified included more inquiry and research into the safety and ethics of delivering suicide prevention interventions online whilst developing and enforcing service-related guidelines. Additionally, legislative enforcement and media endorsement of suicide reporting guidelines should be acidly pursued.

*Social Media and Suicide DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92160*
